text:
My name is Linsey and I love to make weddings special! I specialize in paper flowers and I have done many paper wedding bouquets. My customers love them! If you have an idea for flowers for your wedding, I can help you make your dreams come true. Any paper, color, pattern, book, or decoration can be used in your wedding bouquet.
I can do bouquets for the bride (which always include a free matching boutonniere for the groom!) or I can do whole wedding parties.
The photos above are EXAMPLES of my work.
***I am about 2-4 months out on weddings. Please order way ahead of time.
I charge $110 for bridal bouquets, $70 for bridesmaid's bouquets, and $10 for each boutonniere or corsage (the groom's is always free!)
6-8 weeks
Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. I'm not responsible for delays due to customs.
Just contact me within: 5 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 14 days of delivery
Request a cancellation within: 2 days of purchase
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
Please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
We love to do custom orders! You can either send us a message and we can make you a listing, or you can purchase something in the store and add instructions at checkout. We can do custom paper shape die-cuts, custom cufflinks, custom laser cut things, and custom flowers.
We can make paper flowers from almost anything! All bouquets are totally customizable.
Paper die-cuts can be cut in almost any shape and color. Just ask!
Custom laser items are not eligible for returns or refunds! Please be very sure it is what you want before you order. We can send you a sample picture before you order, if you want a mock-up done.
-We can make paper flowers in any size, from teeny to huge!
-Paper die-cut shapes can be done from small (about 1") to huge (usually around 10.5"). Some shapes have too much "detail" to be done really small. Almost anything can be done huge!
-Wood guest book puzzles can be done in any size. Price will increase with size of puzzle, as we have to use more wood to make it.
-Pretty much everything in our store can be changed to a different size. Please message us with questions!
-Most of our jewelry is silver plated. Silver plate needs to be polished just like regular silver. It's actually easier to clean than sterling silver.
-If you buy a lace pendant or memory locket from me, please DO NOT submerge it in water. Waterproof memory lockets available upon request.
-Paper flowers do best if kept out of direct sunlight. They will fade if you leave them sitting in the sun.
-All items are packaged really well for shipping! Especially the paper stuff.
-We package all jewelry (cufflinks, earrings, necklaces, etc) in a gift box.
-If you want a note included with your order, please leave me a note at checkout with what you want it to say. :)
-We will give discounts for bulk orders. Please send us a message for pricing.


text:
President Barack Obama announced more federal initiatives Friday to help the unemployed caught in the "cruel catch-22" of long-term joblessness.
"The longer you're unemployed, the more unemployable you may seem," Obama said, announcing a partnership with business executives who have set "best principles" designed to keep employers from discriminating against the jobless.
Calling the reluctance of some employers to hire a qualified worker because he or she has been out of work for many months a "cruel Catch-22," Obama pushed back against critics who say long-term federal unemployment benefits disincentivizes a vigorous job search.
"Just because you've been out of work for a while does not mean that you're not a hard worker," he said. "It just means you had bad luck or were in the wrong industry or you live in a region of the country that's catching up a little slower than others in the recovery."
Obama said that participating businesses – and the federal government – will be more mindful of unfair barriers, like spotty credit histories or gaps in employment, that are preventing qualified job-seekers from getting back into the workforce.
Congress failed to pass an extension of jobless benefits for about 1.3 million unemployed Americans last year.
"Getting people back on the job faster is one of our top priorities," Obama said. "But I have to confess, last month Congress made that harder by letting unemployment insurance expire for more than a million people."
Friday's announcement is the latest in Obama's use of executive actions to bypass a Congress that has stymied many of the White House's policy plans.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Milla Jovovich continues to build her scream queen portfolio as director David R. Ellis announces that she will be starring in his upcoming horror film "Bad Luck".
John Carpenter fans, start getting excited. The director has announced his plans to return to vampire territory with his next project, "Fangland" based on the novel by John Marks.
Doug Jones and Reggie Bannister are now all set to slip into their most natural roles ever as R-Squarded films pick up "Carnies" for distribution . The company plans a limited theatrical release and a full scale DVD release for this little convention breaker that sets the carnies facing an unknown evil!
Sometimes dreams do come true! Phantasm II is finally being released on DVD! September 15th is the date of history when we all finally get to hold the second coming of Reggie Bannister in our hands.
Word is out that Spitfire Pictures is going to remake the 1974 Hammer flick Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires. No news on who will star in this kung-fu vampire camp fest, but Peter Cushing is dead, so what's the point?
As if you hadn't had enough "Trick 'r Treat" news this week, this ill-fated movie is also getting the graphic novel treatment and you can see the first five pages here.
If you were for some reason excited about the news yesterday that Robert Rodriguez is hoping for an extended 'Ahnold' cameo in his upcoming "Predator" flick, Rodriguez himself has come out to quash those rumors.


text:
Fossil Crewmaster Sport Chronograph Red Silicone Watch Ch3056 Black
$94.99 $135
Cutting a fine design on (and off) the water, this maritime chronograph takes a cue from yachtsmen's tools with its two-tone rotating timing bezel, 6-hour sub-eye timer and accordion silicone strap.
Browse all deals at Fossil
See more in Sport
See more from Fossil
* This offer may contain time-sensitive information and offers. Please check with Fossil to confirm actual price & availability.
Please enter your name
- Be the first to comment!


text:
1 oz 2018 Australian Bird of Paradise Gold Coin
Order your 1 oz 2018 Australian Bird of Paradise gold coin from our store online today for the web's lowest price. This celebration of one of northeastern Queensland's aviary treasures, the bird of paradise, is proudly brought to you by Australia's oldest and most prestigious mint.
This coin's dazzling reverse features a majestic bird of paradise, wings outstretched and long beak open in a call, perched atop a log, all shown in meticulous detail, against a field of sandblast texturing. Within a simple border with a polished texture, also on the reverse, details of metal weight, purity and content.
The coin's obverse feature, also set against a sandblast textured field, is an exquisite artist's rendering of Elizabeth II, shown in profile, wearing her beloved Girls of Great Britain tiara. Elizabeth's name, as well as the country of origin, year of origin and unique, $100 denominational value are also to be found on the obverse.
Queensland's birds of paradise are best known for the dazzling call and wing displays of the male members of their species. Celebrate the wonders of nature and fortify your holdings with a1 oz 2018 Australian Bird of Paradise gold coin today.
|Perth Mint
|Brilliant uncirculated
|Ian Rank-Broadley's Elizabeth II portrait and the words " Australia 2018"followed by the the 100 Dollar denomination.
|The Victoria Rifle bird of paradise followed by the coins weight, purity and content.


text:
Free opportunities for fun and education
birthday month brings last chance for free field trips to
presidential museum this school year
Send a link to a friend
[January 28, 2014]
SPRINGFIELD — The month of
February brings Abraham Lincoln's birthday, along with the final
chance for school groups to make free visits to the Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library and Museum during the 2013-2014 school year.
All presidential museum field trips
are booked through the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau at
Additional information is available by calling the Convention and
Visitors Bureau at 217- 789-2360. If the weather becomes an issue on
the day of a scheduled field trip, organizers can simply call the
presidential museum at 217-558-8939 to cancel.
The museum's "Lincoln: History to Hollywood" exhibit, featuring
sets, props and costumes from the Steven Spielberg film "Lincoln,"
is currently on display across the street at historic Union Station.
In addition, an exhibit from world-famous photographer Annie
Leibovitz opens on Feb. 8. "Pilgrimage" sees Leibovitz focusing her
lens on landscapes that captured her imagination: Niagara Falls,
Yellowstone National Park, a New Mexico mesa. Visitors can also
scrutinize her close-ups of objects like Emily Dickinson's only
surviving dress, Elvis Presley's motorcycle and a bullet hole put in
a target by Annie Oakley.
Abraham Lincoln plays a major role in "Pilgrimage." Leibovitz
photographed the stovepipe hat and gloves Lincoln had with him
on the night of his assassination, as well as a handwritten copy
of the Gettysburg Address, photographic negatives of Lincoln and
the Lincoln Memorial. Her photos of the bloodstained gloves were
taken at the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
[to top of second column]
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum uses a combination of
rigorous scholarship and high-tech showmanship to immerse visitors
in the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. Students can see ghosts
come to life on stage, watch TV coverage of the 1860 presidential
election, roam through the Lincoln White House, experience booming
cannons in a Civil War battle and come face to face with priceless
original Lincoln artifacts.
While visiting the presidential museum, students can get up close
and personal with Illinois Civil War history through an exhibit
scavenger hunt in the adjacent presidential library, which is
presenting the Civil War exhibit "Boys in Blue." All teachers
visiting with school groups receive a free teacher packet to help
bring the museum experience back to their classrooms.
For more information about the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library and Museum, visit
[Text from
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
file received from the
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]
< Top Stories index
Back to top


text:
It has been a while since I sat down and wrote about traveling on this blog. My last traveling post dates back to January, if you're not counting the time my sister talked about her wonderful hometown. I'm not sure whether it's because of my lack of traveling lately, the weather and winter and work and life wearing me out, or…I don't know, really. But one thing I know is that despite me not talking about it, I still love this just as much.
So today I'm happy and a bit nervous to be back and talk, really talk, about traveling. It's kind of a different post to what you're used to but I really hope you'll enjoy it. BOOKS really are my main source of screams and fangirling here, and if they provide a cheap and incredible way to travel to new places and discover new people for free – well, you'll admit that the price of a book is much, much cheaper than plane tickets, traveling does make my heart do this little flip flop like nothing else does. Except for books. OBVIOUSLY. (And food. And watching a Friends episode. And the people I love.)
I'm lucky enough to have been born with the travel bug, taken from my family and I don't regret it at all. Every holiday I got, every time summer came around, I was always able to look forward to little road trips with my family in France and some European countries as well. When I got older, we -my sister / travel-buddy / crazy planner- took our suitcases, our crazines and got off to England, exploring, map in hand, stopping to every single Waterstones and Prêt à Manger on every corner, thriving to talk more and more in this language we love so much. Flying to the other side of the Atlantic and seeing these lights I had seen so many times in the movies light up from this cab probably was, and always will be, the consecration of all of this, and the eternal reminder of why I love traveling so much: to be able to discover, to live inside of these places I have always dreamed of going to.
Just like being lost in a new book, there is something about getting lost in a new city. So this is the moment where I brag about how I can figure out how to read a map and don't get lost often, but you know, figuratively speaking. I love the new vibe you get in a new city you explore, the beating heart at the great monuments the world just hasn't managed to destroy yet. "The world is your oyster", that stupid expression I picked up from a Friends episode really is a good one. Just like in a new book, being in a new city and slowly but surely falling in love with every new step you take, every single moment where ordinary life, everyday routine gets left behind for evenings in hotel rooms planning the day afterwards with your city guide in hand, the computer, and your camera lying on the bed filled with these treasures discovered a few hours ago.
I don't love traveling. I need traveling, just like I need a good book to get through a bad day, or any day, really. I need the thrill of knowing where I'm going to be heading to next, the feeling of buying that new city guide for my collection, the almost-euphoric feeling of looking up at places to stay, must-sees and plane fares. Something I might do a bit too often if you ask me, but there's nothing like the thrill of the possibility of where you might find yourself next. Just like when you pick up a new book.
Since you didn't ask – my next weekend away is in one month, for my sister's birthday, and it's in France. My next – next weekend away is in May but it's not really away when it's someplace you've lived for a while. My next – next holidays are soon (or so, I hold on to that thought), and I have a plan A, plan B, and a lot of possibilities. The world is my oyster, after all, and nothing will hold me back from exploring it all.
I really hope you enjoyed this kind of very different post. Let me know your thoughts in comments!
What's one thing you love as much as you love books? What's one of your biggest passion? About traveling…if you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Since I can't help it…what's one book that made you want to travel the most? Let's chat in comments!


text:
Have more fun going to Rays games and save money.
Get yourself and friends on the No Excuses Tour chauffeured luxury bus to Tropicana Field, courtesy of Paradise Worldwide Transportation and Lee Roy Selmon's. You get to ride in style — with beer and food in hand — and get dropped off right at the gate.
Click on through to grab a seat for April Rays games, and get all the details at NoExcusesTour.com. Don't flush your gas and parking money down the toilet.


text:
The Reality of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Romans 8:34
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9
He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces. Isaiah 25:8
But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; on him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and by his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
"As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth." Job 19:25
God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 1 Corinthians 6:14
…who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:21
"If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." 1 Corinthians 15:17
Resurrection Quotes
The tomb of Christ is famous because of what it DOES NOT CONTAIN. — Sam Morris
We live and die; Christ died and lived! — John Stott
The resurrection of Jesus changes the face of death for all His people. Death is no longer a prison, but a passage into God's presence. Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won't stay there. — Clarence W. Hall
The primary source of the appeal of Christianity is Jesus – His incarnation, His life, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. — K. Latourette
…Luke associates John with Peter in Acts, when, after the Resurrection, that strange boldness had come upon the disciples. — Alfred Noyes
"The cross is a one time visual representation of God's grief over sin." — Dean L. Harvey
"Live in the awareness that Christ lives and that He lives in His people." — Julien B. Weil
"The cross is the victory, the resurrection is the triumph…The resurrection is the public display of the victory, the triumph of the crucified one." — Leon Morris
"The best proof that Christ has risen is that He is still alive. And for the immense majority of our contemporaries, the only way of seeing Him alive is for us Christians to love one another." — Louis Evely
♪ ♫ "Christ the Lord is risen today, sons of men and angels say. Raise your joys and triumphs high; Sing ye heavens, and earth reply." — Charles Wesley (from the Hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today")
All of heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, hell afraid of it, while men are the only ones to ignore its meaning. — Oswald Chambers
According to the laws of legal evidence used in courts of law, there is more evidence for the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ than for just about any other event in history. — Harvard Law Professor Dr. Simon Greenleaf
♪ ♫ "Hear the bells ringing!
They're singing that we can be born again!
Hear the bells ringing!
They're singing, 'Christ is risen from the dead!'
The angel up on the tombstone said, He is risen just as he said!
Quickly now, go tell His disciples that Jesus Christ is no longer dead
Joy to the world! He is risen! Alleluia!"
— Keith Green, The Easter Song
There is no historic incident better or more variously supported than the resurrection of Christ. — Brooke Foss Wescott
The Gospels do not explain the Resurrection; the Resurrection explains the Gospels. Belief in the Resurrection is not an appendage to the Christian faith; it is the Christian faith. — John S. Whale
♪ ♫ "Up from the grave he arose; with a mighty triumph o'er his foes!
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
and He lives forever with His saints to reign!
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
— from 'Up from the Grave He Arose'
Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime. — Martin Luther
The resurrection power of Jesus broke Satan's captive power. When He led the Old Testament saints from paradise to heaven, He led captivity captive! — Leon Morris
Our justification hinges on a risen life, present in us now because Christ is present with us now. — Paul F.M. Zaul
Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with the resurrection. — Watchman Nee
The entire plan for the future has its key in the resurrection. – – Billy Graham
There is more evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is that Julius Caesar ever lived or that Alexander the Great died at the age of thirty-three. – – Billy Graham
Note: The quotations and scriptures above were found at http://www.unlockingthebible.org/resurrection-easter-quotes-bible-verses/
― Charles Colson
― Peter Marshall (Congressional Chaplain)
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
Romans 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Romans 6:9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
1 Corinthians 15:3-5 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day pin accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Read more: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/quotes-about-the-resurrection-23-good-sayings/#ixzz2PBXHkv6X
|The Word of truth teaches in the clearest and most positive terms that all of the
dead will be raised. No doctrine of the faith rests upon a more literal and emphatic
body of Scripture authority than this, nor is any more vital to Christianity.
Author: C.I. Scofield
|The first thing that stuck in the minds of the disciples was not the empty tomb, but
rather the empty grave clothes – undisturbed in form and position.
Author: Josh McDowellOn what does the Christian argument for Immortality really rest? It stands upon
the pedestal on which the theologian rests the whole of historical Christianity — the
Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Author: Henry Drummond
|I went to a psychologist friend and said if 500
people claimed to see Jesus after he died, it was
just a hallucination. He said hallucinations are an
individual event. If 500 people have the same
hallucination, that's a bigger miracle than the
Author: Lee StrobelThe truth of the resurrection gives life to every
other area of gospel truth. The resurrection is the
pivot on which all of Christianity turns and without
which none of the other truths would much matter.
Without the resurrection, Christianity would be so
much wishful thinking, taking its place alongside
all other human philosophy and religious speculation.
Author: John MacArthurNote: The quotations above were found at
Here (below) is an article about proof for the resurrection of Jesus Christ
Is the resurrection of Jesus Christ an historical event that really happened, or is it
Archaeological discoveries continue to support the Bible's historical accuracy. We tend
The Resurrection Proof #1: The Empty Tomb of Jesus
The empty tomb may be the strongest proof Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Two major
The Resurrection Proof #2: The Women who were


text:
Third 'High School Musical' ice show scheduled
ROCKFORD – An additional "Disney's High School Musical: The Ice Tour" performance has been added at the MetroCentre, 300 Elm St., Rockford.
This one will be at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30.
Tickets cost $14.50 to $40 and will be on sale at 10 a.m. Monday to the general public, although those who subscribe to Centre Events' Scoop online newsletter were able to start buying tickets this morning.
Tickets will be available at centreevents.com , the MetroCentre box office, or by phone at 815-968-5222.
The other two shows are at 7 p.m. Jan. 29 and Jan. 30 and close to being sold out.
Chain reaction accident leaves three dead
LASALLE — Authorities in LaSalle County have identified the three people killed Wednesday in a fiery crash that reportedly began when a trucker from Springfield fell asleep at the wheel.
The crash, which involved two tractor-trailer trucks and five other vehicles, occurred on Interstate 39 north of U.S. Route 6, and one of the rigs spilled a load of 45,000 pounds of potatoes onto the highway. The crash closed the highway to traffic for a time.
Pronounced dead at the scene were Caryn J. Casey, 21, of Rockford and 67-year-old Donald Rautio and 65-year-old Faye Rautio of The Villages, Fla.
According to the Illinois State Police report, the deadly chain reaction began at about 1:18 p.m. on southbound I-39. All seven vehicles involved were entering the construction zone at the Abraham Lincoln Bridge.
William A. Hinds, 42, of Springfield said he fell asleep at the wheel of his tractor-trailer truck, according to police. Ahead of him was a Ford Explorer driven by Michael H. Swiersz, 51, of Danville.
Swiersz told police he saw the truck was not slowing down for the construction zone and tried to get out of the way by driving into the median. The truck struck his SUV in the rear and knocked it down into the median, where it overturned.
The truck kept going and hit the rear of the Rautios' Toyota Camry, forcing it into Casey's Ford Taurus, which was trying to merge into the right lane.
Hinds' rig and Casey's car burst into flame and struck the rear trailer of a semi driven by Roberto Barragan, 56, of Savanna, spilling the potatoes onto the highway, police said.
Barragan's rig then struck the rear of a Dodge Caravan driven by Michael L. Weaver Kaufman, 36, of St. Louis. The impact pushed the van into the rear cargo trailer of a Ford F350 pickup truck driven by Rachel M. Chleborowicz, 39, of Machesney Park, police said.
Hinds' truck and Casey's car, still on fire, finally came to rest in the median.
Hinds, Swiersz and two passengers in Swiersz's vehicle were taken to Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru, police said.
A hospital spokeswoman said three of those people were treated and released and one was transferred to another hospital, but more information was not available Thursday night.
Kaufman and his three passengers were treated and released at Community Hospital of Ottawa.
The crash remains under investigation by state police and the LaSalle County Coroner's Office,
Armed robbery of El Paso bank leads to two arrests
EL PASO - A man and woman were arrested by the Livingston County Sheriff's Department for allegedly robbing an El Paso bank on Thursday morning.
Jason L. Satterfield, 30, and Noelle Huss, 22, both of Pontiac were being held in Livingston County Jail on Thursday night, although it was unclear as to what charges were filed.
El Paso Police Chief Jeff Price said a man entered the Flanagan State Bank, 111 N. Fayette, about 11:15 a.m., showed a pistol and robbed two bank tellers before fleeing.
No shots were fired, and no one was injured during the robbery. An undisclosed amount of money was taken.
Another bank employee chased after the robber. Price said the robber ran behind the nearby IGA grocery store, and the employee gave police the description of two possible getaway vehicles.
One of those, a car, was stopped about noon by Livingston County sheriff's deputies and Pontiac police near St. James Hospital in Pontiac, where Satterfield and Huss were taken into custody.
Thursday wasn't the first time the Flanagan bank has been targeted. A man wearing a ski mask and implying he had a weapon attempted to rob it in July 2006. Police said the man left on foot without any money. No one was ever charged in the crime.
Rescue team seeks new headquarters
SPRINGFIELD – The local volunteer underwater search and rescue team is trying to locate something unusual - new headquarters.
Jim Hoover, commander of the Springfield Underwater Search and Rescue Team (SUSART), said members would like to have a new facility where all of the equipment can be kept in one spot.
"We need a building to house our equipment, to get it out of the weather," Hoover said Thursday. "We are trying to put in a building that's large enough to house our vehicle, a pontoon boat, a jon boat and anything else we might have. ... We wouldn't be doing any underwater work there. We aren't planning on a pool or anything like that."
He expects fundraisers to be planned, and the dive team is also talking about raising money by selling commemorative bricks to be incorporated into the new site.
Formed in the early 1960s, SUSART has four members. Over the years, the team has been called out to find everything from a submerged houseboat to a lost hearing aid. They were even called out once to look for a prosthetic eye.
Hospital construction delayed by discovery of storm sewer
SPRINGFIELD – Millions of dollars already have been spent, but unanticipated cost increases will prevent Kindred Healthcare from opening a 50-bed specialty hospital in Springfield in 2008.
The turn of events also could threaten the venture's future.
"It's an unfortunate situation," Jack Shapiro, Chicago-based chief executive of Kindred Hospitals of Illinois and Wisconsin, said this week of the setback,.
Kindred recently figured out that the final cost to complete a long-term acute-care hospital at the former Doctors Park site would exceed the original $14.7 million estimate by more than the maximum 5 percent allowed by the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.
As a result, the board would have denied an extension in the permit Kindred needs to complete the project at 701 N. Walnut St., Shapiro said.
Rather than abandon the effort, Kindred officials decided that the company would ask the state planning board for another "certificate of need" - requiring a months-long process.
"We assume nothing," Shapiro said. "As far as I'm concerned, we're starting from scratch."
Designs had to be redone after Kindred discovered a storm sewer that may be 100 years old running underneath the property. The sewer line hadn't turned up in the company's previous checks of city property records.
The redesign - making the building three stories instead of two - and the associated delay boosted the cost estimate, Shapiro said.
Contributing: Springfield State Journal-Register, Peoria Journal Star and Rockford Register Star.
State Briefs: 12/29/07
Third 'High School Musical' ice show scheduled


text:
Style Watch: What celebrities wore this week
"Fashion Star" judge and designer Nicole Richie wore a simple, light gray Azzedine Alaia dress accessorized with her own House of Harlow 1960 clutch and studded heels to ELLE's Women in Television Celebration in West Hollywood on Jan. 24. (Photo: Getty Images)
Actress Amanda Seyfried wore a black Michael Kors wool tuxedo jacket over a Marni sweater with J Brand jeans annd black booties at the "Lovelace" premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 22. (Photo: Getty Images)
Singer Taylor Swift wore a red Tee and high-waisted black shorts with glittery black Oxfords for her performance at the 40 Principales Awards in Madrid on Jan. 24. (Photo: Getty Images)
Actress Zooey Deschanel wore ModCloth's "Doll in All" dress on the show's Jan. 22 episode. The dress ($294.99) is sold out at modcloth.com, but you can be put on the waitlist. (Photo: Fox)


text:
Recipe for a Rights War
In a stirring speech on religious liberty at the U.S. bishops' plenary assembly last October, Bishop William Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., decried the U.S. government's propagation of moral relativism — in this instance, regarding criticism of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
"The Department of Justice … has attacked DOMA as an act of 'bias and prejudice,' akin to racism, thereby implying that the churches which teach that marriage is between a man and a woman are guilty of bigotry."
The question is simple: Why are Catholics not bigots?
Bishop Lori noted several warring fronts in the recent conflicts between the Church and the state: contraception, abortion, freedom of conscience and same-sex "marriage."
The battle line has been named religious liberty, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has observed "with growing alarm the erosion of religious liberty in our country."
In response to the increasing celerity of attrition between the state and the Church, Bishop Lori ended his address by exhorting the faithful to "stand united in calling for the laymen and women of the Church to put their gifts and expertise on the line in defense of religious liberty."
The defense against religious infringement is simple. The state cannot violate the conscience and moral convictions of Catholicism because it is a breach of the religious freedom of the Church and her Catholics.
Consequently, Catholics should not be forced to participate in abortion, contraception, same-sex "marriage" or any act that infringes upon their consciences. Bishop Lori's speech on religious liberty contained an eloquent echoing of the U.S. bishops' new 30-page document on faithful citizenship. Slotted for national distribution by the bishops, the document submits the following summation:
"Civil law should fully recognize and protect the Church's right, obligation and opportunities to participate in society without being forced to abandon or ignore its central moral convictions.
So, why are Catholics not guilty of bigotry akin to racism?
In the minds of many Americans, the link between the civil-rights movement of the '60s and the current "LGBT" movement is cogent and undeniable.
In the former, the Church and a myriad of political perspectives marched hand-in-hand for the rights of black people. However, with the so-called LGBT movement — which claims to be the progeny of the civil-rights movement — the Church stands as an impediment.
Subsequently, the Church is charged with a bigotry as malformed as racism. It is in examining the connection between these two movements that the Catholic line of defense seems to incriminate the Church rather than exonerate her.
Bringing to the forefront moral convictions, conscience and religious liberty, Catholics find their weaponry wanting.
A particular weakness is presented in the realization that, unlike most other moral issues, the Church is not content with securing the right to abstain from same-sex "weddings"; she is advocating the practice be illegal within the overall state. Even the U.S. bishops' vanguard of religious liberty stumbles to find any footing here.
Opponents of the Church contend the bishops' conference simultaneously props religious liberty up as a shield between it and the state, and then campaigns for the state to denounce same-sex "marriage," despite the very real moral convictions and religious freedoms of the homosexual community. Here, accusations of bigotry are brought forth, as it appears Catholics believe their moral tradition can trump the rights and moral convictions of other people and groups.
What of conscience? Arguments of conscience bring little to the forefront. Conscience is formed by habit and principle; thus, while the Catholic conscience feels the moral conviction to defend traditional marriage, a growing number of Americans — self-identifying Catholics included — feel the pangs of their unformed consciences to grant homosexual persons complete marital equality.
In response to the charge that Catholics are bigots, many claim the answer is "Yes." In fact, the difficulty of handling this exact question has stymied the courage of many Catholics because they cannot articulate the faith without appearing "hateful," while others have simply abjured Church leadership in favor of a seemingly much more coherent and simple standard of equality for all people. Other Catholics — frustrated by the coupling of their concerns and the inability to voice them — demonize homosexuals as persons as a way to justify being against same-sex "marriage." They speak of homosexuals as furtive fascists seeking to unravel the moral fabric of a Christian America. Fearmongering is no substitute for valid dialogue and only precipitates more accusations of Catholic bigotry.
Americans are witnessing the inception of a rights war. Each faction has hauled in its own set of moral beliefs and traditions to the front. Multiple and contradictory reference points for what is and is not a proper "right" reveal an often unsaid belief: There is no universal reference point — a rights war is a war of competitive human wills.
America has seen and will continue to see a cacophony of autonomous moral positions willing against one another until attrition and public opinion claim a victor.
By entering into a rights war, Catholics have accepted rules of engagement that desiccate their sacred tradition and reduce them to another subset of relative religious opinions.
What the Church and the state need is not another war, but a shared language — a language for Catholics and non-Catholics alike; a universal reference point for rights and laws. What the Church in the United States needs to remember is nature.
Is the Church bigoted? Absolutely not. Holy mother Church speaks to us in charity and truth. The dilemma is how to season our political dialogue with timeless truths, while not being caught up in a "rights war" that distorts the Catholic position.
This is Part 1 of a Register series on Catholic political thought.
H.H. Ambrose is a writer for St. Peter's List (StPetersList.com) and resides in Pennsylvania.
- Keywords:
- January 29-February 11, 2012


text:
Posted by Editoress on 12/22/04
OCA Receives Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant
Courtesy OCA
The Ontario Cycling Association (OCA) is ecstatic to announce a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). The three-year grant will move the OCA to the forefront of governing cycling bodies in North America. Over the next three years, the $239 700 grant will allow us to:
1. Structure and Development the BMX Scene
This includes hiring a BMX Officer and developing a professional BMX track start-up manual. Each will help us increase BMX to more communities and build more tracks. Now that BMX Racing is an official Olympic Sport, this will help build the infrastructure for our future champions. The Riders Ready program (BMX for kids in need) will also be expanded to more tracks.
2. Enhance Events
This includes offering more commissaire courses, introducing an organiser's course and developing a professional organiser's guide. Each will help us to have more consistency and better standards from event to event. It will result in more and better events.
3. Online Systems
The OCA is ready to enter the next age of database management. This revolutionary online system will allow us to process memberships online. The online database system will also be capable of handling online registration. This registration program will be available to all OCA organizers, for very little cost. Gone are the days of long registration line-ups, riders' errors in race and licence numbers and lack of start lists. By having our online pre-registration system in place, timing crews will be able to produce quicker, more accurate results.
With a stable growing BMX community, more consistency from event to event and an innovative online system that will eliminate repetitive paperwork, this Trillium grant will establish the OCA as a cycling leader and will bring more value to the membership.
We would like to thank Kevin Humphrey of the Ontario Trillium Foundation for all of his hard work and dedication in our grant application process. Many of our clubs will remember Kevin from his Trillium presentation at our Club President's Meeting last January.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Ministry of Culture, receives annually $100 million of government funding generated through Ontario's charity casino initiative. The Foundation allocates grants to eligible charitable and not-for-profit organizations in the arts and culture, environment, human and social services, and sports and recreation sectors. For more information, visit www.trilliumfoundation.org.
|Return to Canadian Cyclist homepage | Back to Top


text:
Ever heard John Mayer's 'Slow Dancing in a Burning Room' and Gary Moore's 'Still Got the Blues' ??? (I plan to have them played on my wedding day. That's if I ever do get married.) There's definitely something about their music that makes this young heart lose touch with just about everything else around me. That's art! I think the main emotion here is release. That's what art is supposed to do. The world needs musicians as much as we need food, shelter and air, we need art! Music seems to be the universal language in that it bypasses the ego. How do you confine or label a ray of light. Who really wants to?? It's Magic. Knowing Art, up close- with two ears is a privilege that some fail to recognize. Aren't we so lucky?
May 29, 2008
The Tingle of E : Plundering for Art
Keyed in by Eveline 1 Pulses Say
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
Google Broadens Its Outreach to GOP
Long Viewed as an Ally of Democrats, It's Now Courting Conservatives on Issues Affecting Its Business
WASHINGTON—Google Inc. employees have been a top source of campaign cash for President Barack Obama. A former chief executive campaigned for the president. Several company executives went to work in his administration.
Behind the scenes, though, the company has been working hard to change its profile as an ally of the Democratic Party, courting Republicans and building alliances with conservatives at a time when regulators and Congress are considering issues affecting its business interests....
To Read the Full Story


text:
Members from hackerspaces all over Ireland will be forming a temporary hackerspace at Electric Picnic this year. We will be in Mindfield area on Saturday and Sunday from 6pm to 8pm. Our home for the weekend will be the incredible inflatable Ignition Stage. We will be running drop in workshops. Details of the workshops below. Come on by to […]
- TOG is a hackerspace based in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. It is a shared space where members have a place to be creative and work on their projects in an environment that is both inspiring and supportive of both new and old technologies. Join our mailing list.
Upcoming events


text:
Ten California cities — nine longtime participants in a statewide gang prevention network, plus newly added Long Beach — gathered a few weeks ago to share practices and develop a 2013 policy agenda. Despite prevailing challenges such as resumed high rates of violent crime, significant turnover among mayors, chiefs of police, city councils, and diminished police forces, and fewer resources than ever, commitment to working together as a network remains strong.
Several cities cited recent signs of progress. Two cities have embedded leadership for public safety initiatives in mayors' and city managers' offices. At the ballot box in November, voters approved new or extended tax measures to provide targeted funding for public safety initiatives, in several cities. Additional cities have raised new supplemental resources from the federal government. Still others have secured means and partners for rigorous evaluation of their complex, comprehensive, community-wide violence prevention efforts.
With the state having granted dozens of additional cities a share of CalGRIP gang reduction grants, network cities once again named securing the future of this grant source a policy priority. More broadly, looking at the multiple, sometimes similar grant programs that the newly constituted Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) administers, network cities spotted an opportunity to pursue consolidation of grant programs, or at least to "blend and braid" funds as contemplated in the recently enacted AB526. And the cities present observed that — despite ongoing "realignment" in the state corrections and probation/parole system, and the formation of the BSCC — they need to work with the Governor and others to formulate an actual statewide violence prevention strategy and policy.


text:
Texas McCombs ·
Tech@McCombs ·
Orientation ·
MPA Tech Orientation
Technology is an important part of the learning environment at McCombs. The college has a sophisticated network and provides students with valuable resources like computer labs, McCombs email addresses and wireless internet access throughout our buildings.
This site contains several tabs that introduce you to various technology resources. Click each tab to learn more about that specific resource.
Your UT EID is provided by the University to perform secure actions. You used this account to apply to the University of Texas. It is managed by the UT Information Technology Services (ITS) department. You should address any questions or issues with it to the ITS Help Desk. You can reset your password or look up your EID at the EID Self Service Tools Site.
Your UT EID is used to perform many actions, such as:
When you use your UT EID or any other UT or McCombs technology resources, you must follow UT's Acceptable Use Policy. These rules apply every time you use any UT computing resource. That could be using a computer in one of the labs or using UT's wireless internet access.
You are responsible for following all of the computing policies. Here are some of the most commonly broken policies:
Official correspondence from UT, the MPA Program Office, and your instructors will be sent to the email address that you have listed in the UT Directory. Please make sure that this is an email address that you check regularly. While you have the option to set up UT and McCombs email addresses (see below), official communication will only be sent to the address that you have listed in the directory.
The McCombs School of Business has partnered with the University to provide McCombs email addresses for students through the UT Mail service. UTmail is powered by Google and provides a 30GB mailbox and Google Apps for Education, which includes Google Drive for file storage and sharing. Both your UTmail address and your McCombs address will remain active after you graduate.
First, sign up for UTmail at http://utmail.utexas.edu to create your @utexas.edu address. We recommend that you use the email@example.com format when setting up the account, particularly if you will participate in recruiting. This follows MPA resume guidelines.
To set up the McCombs email address, you must log into McCombs Online Resources (MOR) in order to confirm or change the format of the email address. In the UTmail tab in MOR, you will see that the default format for your McCombs email address will be: firstname.lastname@example.com. ("21" indicates that you are graduating in 2021.) If no changes are necessary, please click "Confirm Email Address." If you go by a name different from the one listed, you will enter your preferred first and last name, and then click "Update McCombs UTmail Address." Your McCombs email address will be added to your UTmail account within two weeks of confirming or updating.
Your @utexas.edu address will be the default "Send from" address. When composing a new message, a drop down box in the "From:" field will allow you to select the email address from which the message will be sent.
To change the default "Send from" email address go to Options (the gear-shaped button in upper-right corner) > Settings > Accounts, then set the default.
You can also configure the system to reply from the same account the message was sent to. Go to Options (gear-shaped button in upper-right corner) > Settings > Accounts. Under your mail addresses you can select Reply from the same address the message was sent to.
Internet Access on Campus
The University offers free wireless access to the University community. Wireless access is supported by UT's Information Technology Services (ITS), not by the McCombs School of Business. If you have problems, contact the ITS Help Desk at 475-9400.
Complete information about the UT wireless networks can be found here.
Wireless is available throughout the McCombs Business School complex, including the CBA, GSB, and UTC buildings. The AT&T Conference Center has extensive wireless access. Many other areas of campus also have wireless, including the Texas Union, Student Activity Center, Student Services Building, Gregory Gym common areas, the campus open malls, and most classroom buildings.
Devices connecting to the utexas Wi-Fi network must be compatible with 802.11 a/g/n/ac protocols and capable of 802.1x authentication (also commonly referred to as "WPA2-Enterprise" on several platforms). Devices that do not support 802.1x or older devices that only support 802.11b will be unable to use the university's Wi-Fi network. Administrative rights on your computer to complete the UT network wireless connection process may be needed.
If you are on campus:
Click here for instructions on connecting a mobile device to the wireless network.
For information about bandwidth limits and data plans, click here.
For ITS help & support click here.
It is of the utmost importance that you secure your computer and the files on it. Unlike other corporate environments, we do not have a firewall around the campus network, and we do not manage your computer's security. It is your responsibility to protect your computer.
Most operating systems, whether Windows, OS X, Linux, or other systems, need periodic updates to protect against newly discovered security exploits.
When you connect to the UT wireless network, it checks whether your computer is fully updated. If you are too far behind on updates, the network will not let you connect.
Anti-virus software identifies and removes viruses from your computer. It is important that you have one, and only one, anti-virus software on your computer. In addition, it is important that the software continually updates its virus definitions. If you purchased a computer that came with a 90-day free trial of anti-virus software, you should either pay for the subscription, or remove it and install a different anti-virus software.
UT offers free downloads of anti-virus software on its Information Security Office "Getting Anti-Virus" page..
Feel free to browse through the IT@UT site for other free downloads.
For answers to tech questions at any time, search our Tech Help Wiki.
Where To Go For Help
GSB 3.132, and RRH 3.430, Website
Monday – Friday, 8:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Phone: 512-232-6616
The SWAT Shop is your first stop for tech-related questions at the McCombs School of Business and Rowling Hall. They answer general questions about computers and McCombs technology, such as email and software. SWAT also assists with basic computer issues such as wireless configuration for the UT restricted network.
FAC Lobby, Website
Monday – Thursday, 8 am – 10 pm
Friday, 8 am - 6 pm
Saturday and Sunday, 12 noon - 5 pm
Hours may vary during summer and winter breaks. Check the website for the most up-to-date information.
(512) 475-9400
The ITS Help Desk assists all UT students, faculty and staff with University technology services, including EID issues, Canvas, wireless, printing, software, and Webspace. They also help with virus and spyware issues.
Monday – Friday, 7:45 a.m. – 6:15 p.m.
The Checkout Desk checks out equipment for students, including projectors, screens, digital cameras, notebook computers, camcorders, and microphones. They also sell supplies such as DVDs, headphones, and white board markers.
Lynda is an online learning website with courses on a large variety of topics, including Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, Apple, Adobe, business skills, and much more. All McCombs students have access to Lynda, and you can access it anytime and anywhere that has an internet connection. It keeps track of where you are, so if you leave in the middle of a course, it can tell you where you were when you return.
(Note: Blackboard will be retired on August 31, 2015.)
Canvas is the website professors use to share class documents, announcements, and grades.
Some professors use Adobe Connect, a web conferencing tool, to conduct classes, review sessions, or office hours. Learn about Adobe Connect before attending a meeting to ensure a trouble-free usage. Learn more about attending an Adobe Connect meeting.
UT Direct is the student portal for all University of Texas at Austin students.
McCombs Online Resources, or MOR, is your one-stop site for many of the important functions you will perform at McCombs.
The UT Directory is available for you to look up contact information and office locations for anyone at UT. You can access the directory by:
If you want to restrict what information is shown about you in the UT Directory, you can do so on the Registrar's website.
The McCombs Tech Wiki contains answers to many helpful tech questions. You can search for information, or use the navigation.
If you don't already save all of your files, or at least your important files, in the cloud, then we highly recommend you start immediately. Saving files in the cloud means saving them on a remote location outside your computer's hard drive. This protects you from losing your important files. File loss can occur when your computer gets lost or stolen, your hard drive crashes, your computer gets infected with a virus, or other random acts of nature, like a fire. Just imagine having all your important class files saved on your hard drive, only to lose your computer the last week of class. Saving in the cloud prevents this, because even if your computer is lost, stolen, or crashes, then you can still access the files saved on the remote location, either through our computer labs or a different computer.
Saving files in the cloud also makes it easier to share and collaborate on files with team members. Teamwork is a cornerstone of study at McCombs, so saving in one place allows everyone to see the latest version, and keeps your Inbox smaller by eliminating the need to email files to everyone.
There are a number of third-party online file storage options available to anyone. Many of these are available for little to no charge, and can be easy to use. These aren't associated with UT, so you can access them after graduation.
Box cloud storage is a free campus-wide service that allows faculty, staff. and students at the University of Texas at Austin to use Box Cloud-based file sharing for business and academic purposes.
To access UTBox, you will log in with your UT-EID and password.
NOTE: Always have a backup copy of any important file! Do not store files in only one location, be it online or your computer.
Flawn Academic Center (FAC) 109
Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
You can purchase software at a student discount at the Campus Computer Store. You are only allowed one license per piece of software. Visit their website for a full listing of software available and prices.
Page last updated: 7/19/2016
By phone: (512) 471-5921
2110 Speedway
Austin, TX 78705
Rowling Hall
300 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Austin, TX 78712
McCombs School of Business,
The University of Texas at Austin |
Contact Us


text:
A creative footprint and equipment layout promote efficient production systems that allow this new hotel's restaurant, bar, room service and catering menus to showcase local and fresh ingredients.
Radisson Blu hotel opened in March 2013, it became the first hotel linked by skyway to Minnesota's world-renowned Mall of America. The 13-story, 500-room, $137.5 million hotel is part of the mall's second expansion phase. Today the mall spans 4.2 million square feet with 520 stores, 50 restaurants and several theme-park-like attractions. Located about 15 minutes from downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul, the megamall attracts nearly 42 million visitors annually. This and other projected expansions will add up to 5.6 million square feet and bring in another 20 million visitors.When the
Branded by Radisson's parent, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, the 260 existing Radisson Blu properties are referred to as the "upper upscale hotels," with locations in Chicago (Radisson Blu Aqua opened in 2011), Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. The promotion materials for the Bloomington, Minn., Radisson Blu present this hotel line as "an edgy, fashion-forward aesthetic with chic, modern Midwest appeal." For example, the lobby's porcelain-like panels create a multifaceted sculptural installation referencing a cool, pristine shopping bag.
"We identified this location as a strong investment opportunity for one of Carlson's flagship hotels in part because of the volume of U.S. and international visitors drawn to Mall of America annually," says Thorsen Kirschke, Carlson Hotels' global chief operating officer. "It also presented a unique opportunity to partner with the high-end design aspirations of the mall and meet the need for additional 'upper upscale' hotel offerings in the market."
Guests who take an elevator up one level from the lobby find a lounge with ultramodern chairs in bright red and other colors. Turning to the left of the escalator, visitors see the entrance to the FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar, modeled after the first FireLake, which opened 10 years ago at the Radisson in downtown Minneapolis.
"The Mall of America is one of the biggest malls in the world, and we wanted the FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar to be a comfortable refuge for people either taking a break from spending the day in the mall, or staying in the hotel as a business or leisure guest," says Jim Hamilton, creative director at Graven Images, the firm that designed the restaurant.
"Given the hotel's unique location, the main challenge was to create a warm, relaxing environment in what is otherwise an extremely contemporary hotel experience,"
Hamilton continues. "We complimented the Minnesota-centric menu produced by the executive chef, Paul Lynch, by using reclaimed Minnesotan barn wood to clad the majority of walls, columns, beams and ceilings in the restaurant and bar. These were sourced from old barns all over Minnesota. Apart from the incredible texture and tone the wood provides, by the end of their visit, guests will have gained an understanding of the region from both the food and from the décor."
Featuring a mix of classic American heartland flavors, the menu incorporates as many fresh and locally produced ingredients as possible. According to Lynch, who conceived and opened the first FireLake location and now leads dining operations at the Mall of America location, the area's Scandinavian, German and Irish populations influence the food in the region. "The restaurant is about the flavors of real burning wood from the land of 10,000 lakes," he adds.
The menu features items categorized primarily by their production methods: grill/mesquite; oven/white oak; flavor of the flame/hickory; simmered and tossed; plancha and skillet. The other menu items are more generic: pastries and cream; to share or not (appetizers); and small plates.
Efficiency Drives Layout and Production
Radisson Blu's operation includes a kitchen supporting the 6,400-square-foot, 180-seat restaurant; 130-seat, 3,900-square-foot bar; room service and banquets. The restaurant and bar feature a 540-square-foot exhibition kitchen, which also supports room service.
Efficiency was the key driver for the back-of-house kitchen layout. "We're very lean, which is very much in keeping with today's facility designs," Lynch says. "Overall, the square footage is one-third smaller than the kitchen downtown for twice the volume."
Placing the entire kitchen, restaurant, bar and banquet rooms on one level also contributes to the facility's efficiency. In contrast, the downtown facility's layout is on two floors.
"Our challenge was to create a central circulation spine to the space to accommodate traffic from the storage to the production areas, food going in multiple directions to the restaurant, banquet areas and employee dining as well as dishes flowing back from those areas," says foodservice design consultant Steve Carlson, FCSI, LEED AP, president of Robert Rippe & Associates, based in Minnetonka, Minn. "The space was typical of a hotel kitchen with the closely placed column based on the hotel rooms above. This resulted in a long, linear space which made it challenging to position two cooking lines face to face and still get decent traffic aisles. We knew the corridor couldn't be too narrow because it had to accommodate banquet carts, plate carts, ice machines, room service warmers and a space for servers to walk."
Another challenge appeared when the planning team discussed the size of the back-of-the-house corridors behind ballroom and meetings rooms. "It was a challenge to get back-of-the-house corridors wide enough for all the equipment and staff needed for plate-out and bussing," Carlson says. "So the architects made the corridors wider [so they would] be functional. We had to compromise on access to the junior ballroom. Staff can go through the back of the house to take catering carts to the main ballroom, but staff must take carts through a public corridor to get to the smaller ballroom."
Back-of-House Production
Food arrives at a dock two floors below the kitchen where a receiver checks the orders. Elevators transport deliveries up to the kitchen so staff can place food into storage, which includes coolers for produce, meat, dairy and banquets, as well as one freezer and one area for dry goods.
"Storage and production are on one level, so we don't handle food twice," Lynch says. Unlike at many hotels, this Radisson Blu does not have a main storage area where staff initially store food before reissuing it. Cooks for each restaurant production station go to the appropriate storage areas and take the ingredients they need. On the other hand, cooks in the banquet and executive lounges fill out requisition forms before coming to the storage areas to secure what they need for their stations.
The hotel's dining receiving and purchasing agents work from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m., and the storerooms are also open during those hours. After 5 p.m., only supervisors and sous chefs can access the storerooms. "My office sits outside the storerooms, and I'm here often," Lynch says. "There's a great benefit for this positioning because I can keep an eye on what and how much is being taken out of storage, including from the freezer and nonrefrigerated storage areas holding items such as china. Also, I hear conversations so I can pick up on the staff's needs and challenges. Tight purchasing and usage controls, along with the way we've set up the production means I am coming in below my 25 percent food budget at 19.2 percent." This setup reduces theft, as well.
The production layout maximizes efficiency in product usage and labor. For pre-preparation, the kitchen features a garde manger area containing a prep counter with sinks, a maple-top counter, a food processor and a one-gallon blender. The meat and seafood preparation area contains work counters, a sausage stuffer, a vacuum-packaging machine and a mobile warming cabinet and smoker. At the adjacent pantry/bakery, staff use work counters, a 1-gallon blender and ingredient bins, as well as a batch freezer, reach-in refrigerator, 30-quart mixer, 5-quart mixer and combi oven shared with the restaurant hot prep area to make Amish malted chocolate peanut butter pie, peach rhubarb cobbler, lemon Chantilly-blueberry pie and dark chocolate truffle tart. An ice cream and gelato maker rounds out the equipment in this area.
In the hot food production area, staff use equipment to prepare several items for the restaurant and ingredients for the exhibition kitchen. The majority of hot food production in the back of the house is for banquets.
To make sauces and soups such as Minnesota wild rice; tomato and fennel; and seasonal variations, staff use 40-, 6- and 12-gallon kettles. They use a 40-gallon tilting fry pan for searing and large-batch cooking. The hot prep area also features a two-section fryer, a charbroiler and a grill with oven beneath.
The kitchen also contains three combi ovens and a blast chiller, which contribute to the meal preparation for banquets. Staff prepare planned dishes using the combi ovens, which Lynch selected because they control temperature, time and humidity. Staff quickly cool cooked items in the blast chiller. On the day of a banquet, staff remove the chilled food, portion and plate it and place the plates on mobile plate racks that fit into the roll-in combi ovens. When a function starts, plates are rethermalized (an eight-minute cycle), then moved to the thermal holding cabinets adjacent to the ballrooms and other meeting rooms. At the point of service, staff add garnishes before the serving staff deliver plates to guests.
For Lynch, this system minimizes stress on the production process. "I prefer this system compared to the more traditional plate-up system at the point of delivery, because I need many fewer staff for preparation and serving," Lynch says. "We can serve 800 guests with less stress than when plating for 200 guests. I feel we get much fresher food this way because we cook the food in advance, chill it to the exact temperature we need it to be, plate it exactly the way we want because we're not working under the same pressure at the point of service, and then reheat at automated, tested temperatures. At the point of service, we can add crisp fried onions, micro greens and fresh herbs."


text:
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Sunday "Stimming"
14 comments:
How cute! My kids love that song!ReplyDelete
He has the best laugh!ReplyDelete
toasty gray.ReplyDelete
Got ya!
autism is my all time favorite "disability.disorder.what ever you want to call it." this make me happy!!!ReplyDelete
Nice dancing Roger!ReplyDelete
we love him -- thanks for putting that on there.ReplyDelete
That was awesome! I loved the shoulder shaking and the laugh at the end!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 20, 2010 at 9:18 AM
"autism is my all time favorite "disability.disorder.what ever you want to call it." this make me happy!!!"ReplyDelete
um...okay? That was an odd comment
AHHH I can't pull this up! I finally got my computer working. Have been reading you in the iphone. You have to send it to my e-mail. Please, I love for these.ReplyDelete
Live for these. And love them.ReplyDelete
They go on my deserted island playlist.ReplyDelete
- Krista GageJanuary 21, 2010 at 4:53 PM
PURE awesomeness! LOVE that!ReplyDelete
dang, he's adorable...!ReplyDelete
sure makes up for the times he pooped on the floor, huh...?
- AnonymousJanuary 23, 2010 at 8:29 PM
Oh, autism love. I found you through Kimba, and we have a 7 year old autistic son. We too have thrown out the mini trampoline and the couch is getting the work out now.ReplyDelete
Leigh Ann


text:
VANS Unicorn Slip-On Sneaker
The original skate-shoe company, Vans brought California's vivid skateboard subculture into fashion's mainstream. Founded in Anaheim in 1966, the company's iconic slip-on was an instant favorite among riders drawn to its sticky soles, durable construction and laid-back vibe. Now offering apparel and accessories in addition to shoes, Vans is synonymous with youth culture, music and action sports.